The present invention relates to a method for opening textile fiber bales, particularly hard-pressed cotton bales, where the fiber material of one or several bales is removed from above, and efficient apparatus for carrying out the method.
In a method known in the art, a fiber bale is pressed from below against an opening roller. The latter directly removes fiber from the bale, depending on the compactness of the bales, in varying quantities. Ordinarly the fiber bales have no uniform compactness. However, when in this known method fiber bales delivered successively to the opening roller have varying compactness, the opening device plucking with constant effect removes a varying amount of fiber. With fiber bales of less compactness there is even the danger that entire layers or at least large lumps are removed from the fiber bales. To avoid these shortcomings, the removed fiber material is to be delivered to a sensing element by which the feeding speed of the fiber bale is to be adjusted. This method has the disadvantage that a uniform fiber removal from the bale and a uniform breakup into fine flakes cannot be achieved. For one, a certain time interval passes until the removed quantity is measured via the sensing element and then the feed speed of the fiber bale is changed. Also, a changed feed speed cannot prevent the tearing out of chunks of different size as a result of the direct interference of the opening roller. Another annoying feature is that the arrangement for carrying out this method with a sensing element, a driven platform for the fiber bale and separate switching devices for varying the transport speed are much too expensive.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of the above type which permits a uniform removal of layers from a fiber bale and which allows the uniform breakup of layers into fine fiber flakes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of the foregoing character which is substantially simple in construction and may be economically fabricated.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement, as described, which may be readily maintained in service and which has a substantially long operating life.